After she got under the covers, Frankie jumped up on the bed. The dog nuzzled close to her side. She stroked Frankie’s fur. “You understand, don’t you?”
With Frankie close, she drifted off to sleep, though the images and sounds of Elsie crying out as she’d fallen still echoed through her mind.
She awoke hours later when light streamed through the window. Frankie was still sleeping by her.
She stroked the dog’s head. “Thanks for helping me get through the night.”
Lydia got up, showered and changed into the clothes she’d bought at the store. She’d have to go back to her place to get more clothes at some point. She didn’t have the income to keep buying new outfits.
When she stepped into the kitchen, River had changed. His blond hair was slicked back from his face. He tossed her a protein bar, which she caught. “Eat up. I heard from Gregory Larson’s assistant. The only time he can meet with us out at that land is early this morning. Apparently, he’s got a packed schedule dealing with the real estate business.”
She pocketed the protein bar and headed toward the door. Within minutes, she was sitting in the passenger seat of River’s patrol car as they headed out of town. Frankie sat in her kennel.
Tension knotted the back of Lydia’s neck. She prayed they’d find something that would lead them to Elsie.
* * *
River kept his eyes on the road as he took the turn that would lead to the back side of the property Gregory Larson owned. He slowed down when the paved road turned to dirt.
“I’ve asked one of the other task force members to meet us up there. Lizzie has a K-9 who’s trained to track. She was here for the initial search, the blond woman with the golden retriever. Two noses are better than one. I don’t want to take a chance of missing anything if Elsie was anywhere near that clubhouse.”
Any small morsel of evidence would help at this point.
If Elsie hadn’t been taken away in that car, where else could she have been hidden? The kidnapper would have had to carry her over a hill. There had been plenty of brush and trees that would have hidden them from view. Still, he could not understand why Frankie and the other dogs had completely lost the scent at the creek. It was as if a helicopter had landed and taken Elsie up in the air.
The road he was on was different than the one that led to the trail or the one where the car had been seen. He took several more turns and then the clubhouse and the skeet shooting range came into view. When he checked his rearview mirror, he saw Lizzie’s patrol vehicle behind him. Just having another task force member help out would lighten his load. The focus on finding Mia before it was too late and getting justice for the other three women had caused the members to bond quickly.
The road leveled off. River stopped his car and Lizzie parked beside him. Two men were at the shooting range. One operated the trap and the other aimed his rifle at the sky. Off in the distance, a man was flying a drone and two others were practicing fly-fishing casts. The land was used for more than just skeet shooting. The clubhouse was some distance from the range. It looked to be a prebuilt modular home that had been hauled in. River, Lydia and Lizzie all got out of their vehicles.
The man shooting skeet leaned his rifle against a stump and walked toward them. River recognized him from ads. Gregory Larson was tall and in good shape. He was probably in his late thirties or early forties. As he got closer, River’s assessment was that there was a fake quality to him. Gregory’s tan was a little too even to have happened naturally by being in the sun and his blond hair had dark roots.
Gregory held out his hand. River made quick introductions.
“So sorry to hear about that poor little girl,” said Gregory. He turned to Lydia. “This must be difficult for you.”
Lydia managed a nod.
“I’ll do anything to help.” Gregory shifted his weight focusing his gaze on River.
“Were you on the land the day Elsie was taken?”
He shook his head. “I had a showing in Colorado Springs. Sorry I can’t be of more help.”
River glanced over at the men practicing their fly-fishing casts. “Looks like you use the land for other things. Do you know if anybody else was here?”
“I can ask around. People come and go as they please once they pay a small rental fee for the use of the land. Just trying to make this place pay for itself. The clubhouse is only opened for members of the skeet shooting club.”
“If you don’t mind, we’d like to deploy the dogs to see if there was any trace of the girl having been here,” said River.
“Sure, I’ve left the clubhouse door unlocked. I’ve got to head out for a showing here in twenty minutes. The last person to leave will lock up for me.”
Using Elsie’s jacket, which Lydia had taken with her when she’d left her place, River and Lizzie deployed the dogs. While River headed toward the clubhouse, Lizzie directed Reena to work her way downhill. From the map he’d looked at, River knew the creek and the dirt road were two hills over from the clubhouse.
Lydia followed River and Frankie. The inside of the clubhouse was one big room with a large table and several couches and chairs, a bar near the kitchen had several stools by it. The counter had a coffee machine. The center of the room had a large fireplace that looked like it had never been used.
River looked around. “The electrical must be run on some kind of generator.” If the fireplace wasn’t being used, they must have another way to heat the place.
After River commanded her to search, Frankie put her nose to the ground and move around the room.
